| Free Indeed - Prelude : Apotheosis of George Washington With the Olympics and Washington's birthday both being celebrated in the U.S. this week, I thought I would share some work I've been doing for a while on the identification of George Washington with false gods in the civic iconography of the United States. The U.S. Capitol Building was modeled directly on the Pantheon of Rome, largely at the urging of Thomas Jefferson. As its name implies, the Roman Pantheon was a temple to all the false gods of that culture. In the top of the dome of the U.S. Capitol is a fresco entitled "The Apotheosis of George Washington," painted by Constantino Brumidi in 1865. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word apotheosis means: 1. The action of ranking, or fact of being ranked, among the gods; transformation into a god; deification, divine status. 2. By extension: The ascription of extraordinary, and as it were, divine, power or virtue; glorification, exaltation; the canonization of saints. The central grouping in the highest part of the dome depicts Washington being taken up to heaven, done by Italian artist Brumidi in a style strongly reminiscent of paintings of the Assumptions of Jesus or Mary. Brumidi had previously painted in the Vatican. In this case, however, it is not angels of God who accompany Washington in his assumption, but the female figures of Liberty and Victory. (Liberty/Minerva and Winged Victory/Nike are very prevalent in the civic iconography of the U.S., and are often pictured together) Surrounding these three figures are 13 female figures representing the original 13 states. Around the edge of the dome are painted 6 groups of figures representing war, commerce, marine, agriculture, science, and mechanics. Included in these groups of figures are the false gods Mercury, Nepture, Ceres, Minerva, and Vulcan. In 1841, a twelve ton marble statue of Washington Seated as Zeus was placed under the dome of the Rotunda, amid much controversy, mostly over the lack of clothing. This statue of Washington was modeled on the famous statue of the seated Zeus in his temple at Olympia, sculpted by Phidias. Because its great weight cracked the floor of the capitol, it was placed outside for a number of years, and today resides in the Smithsonian. A small figure of Winged Victory (Nike) is included with Washington, as with Phidias' original. On the base of the Washington statue is Apollo. The eagle was Zeus' special symbol. Interestingly, the Lincoln memorial is modeled after the Olympian Temple of Zeus. One of the inscriptions inside the Lincoln Memorial refers to itself literally as "This Temple." ("In this Temple, as in the hearts of the people, for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.") The Washington Memorial is in the form of an obelisk. In ancient Egypt obelisks were found in pairs outside the entrance to temples to Osiris. The implied identification of Washington with Osiris brings to mind the Pharaoh worship of the ancient Egyptians. According to this system of idolatry, the Pharaoh was believed to become incarnated (possessed) by the spirit of Horus upon his coronation. Upon his death, he would become Osiris, to guide the new Pharaoh from the world of the dead. Paintings in Dome of U.S. Capitol: http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/rotunda/apotheosis/apotheosis.htm +++++++++++++++++++++ Washington Seated as Zeus: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/Classics/classical_traditions/City%20Plan/image7.htm http://www.senate.gov/learning/min_2ghg.html +++++++++++++++++++++++ Temple of Zeus at Olympia, with the Seated Statue of Phidias: http://home.eol.ca/~smithda/templeofzeus.html +++++++++++++++++++++ Ruins of Temple at Olympia: http://www.richmond.edu/academics/a%26s/classics/photos/olympia.html ++++++++++++++++++++++ "Sacred to the Memory of George Washington" and "Washington Gives the Laws to the People" http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/aril/themes.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++ Free Indeed - Part 1 : Introduction Free Indeed - Home |